Cam's Consensus: The Final 2026 Scout Poll

BUFFALO, New York – We’re nearly at the finish line.

This week, teams, agents, players, and their families have descended on Buffalo for a whirlwind of meetings, dinners, physical testing, and mental warfare.

The NHL Draft Combine has become more than just an opportunity to get accurate measurements and a definitive pull-up count. It’s become the fitting room of the NHL – a curtained-off space designed for trying on outfits and seeing if they fit.

After a full season of viewings, scouts and executives have seen this class from every angle. The picture is clearer than it has been at any point this year. Lists have been made, but will continue to be massaged as the final drags of information filter in and last-minute passionate debates rage on.

That's an important distinction to make. While these lists have been provided after all the games have been played, they will not be finalized for some teams until the day of the draft. 

There is room for movement. Interviews and physical testing results can play a significant role.

While this is the first year of this exercise, the divide in rankings feels substantial.

This final NHL Scout Poll reflects that tension. Ten scouts from ten different organizations submitted the top 32 players from their lists. From those ten lists, 57 players were named.

The message from teams is fairly consistent: there's a good level of certainty at the very top. Through the middle, there's real disagreement. And by the back half of the round, boards open up entirely.

What follows isn’t a projection of what will happen in late June. It’s a snapshot of how NHL teams see the class, with all the conviction and uncertainty that come with it. Weighted and averaged out for your consumption.

To repeat, this is NOT a mock draft.

The mid-season consensus board saw Ivar Stenberg take over the top spot from Gavin McKenna by the slimmest of margins, thanks to his then-historic SHL pace and dominant World Junior performance.

McKenna flipped that script for the final list, taking home nine first-place votes. He is firmly the top prospect in this class, according to this sample.

Despite the near-historic showing to finish his season at the World Championships, Stenberg slipped to third with Caleb Malhotra (No. 2) narrowly passing him thanks to a single first-place vote and four second-place tallies.

On Malhotra, one scout shared, “He’s by far the best centre in the draft. You’re getting the only definite top-six centre.”

Stenberg still has plenty of believers, with three teams placing him second and one executive sharing:

“He’s everything you want from a first-line wing except for the size. We’ve had a lot of conversations about having him at the top.”

Carson Carels (No. 4) and Chase Reid (No. 5) round out the top five, with both players featuring as the top defence option for different clubs.

Carels was one of the most consistently placed names, with one club ranking him sixth and the other nine clubs featuring him among their top five, including a third-place vote.

“He has everything he needs,” one scout shared. “He could be the best of them (defenders).”

Viggo Björck slides up to No. 6 and was the only other player besides McKenna, Malhotra, and Stenberg to receive a top-two vote.

“He’s a stud. IQ. Skill. Size won’t matter,” an executive shared way back in December.

The next seven slots feature five defencemen with Ethan Belchetz (No. 10) and Tynan Lawrence (No. 12) sprinkled in.

Keaton Verhoeff held the third overall spot in the September and January editions, but slipped to 7th overall to finish the year. While some teams are concerned with his skating and decision-making, others remain very high on the 6-foot-4 right-shot back.

“If he stayed in the WHL, he scores 35, and you don’t beat him up as much,” a scout shared.

Verhoeff received one third-place vote and two fourth-place tallies. He featured among the top 10 on eight of 10 boards.

Potential riser Wyatt Cullen (No. 14) had the widest range of opinions.

He didn’t receive a single vote in the September top 15. He failed to make the cut on the January top 20.

After a strong and dynamic finish to his season, coupled with an impressive growth spurt, Cullen received four top-10 votes, including one top-five vote for this final exercise. Conversely, he was not included on one team’s first-round list, which dropped him down overall.

“He’s got a little Jack Hughes in him,” an NHL scout offered this week when discussing Cullen.

10 of the next 11 slots were given to forwards, with Oscar Hemming (No. 15) and Oliver Suvanto (No. 16) holding down the final two spots in the top half of the first round.

Tommy Bleyl (No. 20) made his debut thanks to an impressive rookie QMJHL campaign that saw him lead all CHL draft-eligible blueliners in points with 81 in 63 games.

A trio of CHL point leaders featured early in the 20s as Nikita Klepov (No. 22), J.P. Hurlbert (No. 23), and Liam Ruck (No. 24) had a wide range of opinions.

Xavier Villeneuve (No. 26) is one of the most interesting names to watch on Draft Day. The QMJHL defender has his fans in equal numbers as his detractors. The offensive inclination is among the best in the class. The rest of the profile remains a point of debate.

“Xavier is definitely a big swing on potential and upside,” one team shared. “It’s certainly there for him, but he will need to have the right mindset and willingness to learn parts of the game. Has plenty of tools you just can’t teach.”

Towering centre Brooks Rogowski (No. 32) takes the final spot on the list after showing up on four lists, with one team ranking him as the 22nd-best prospect.